A personal reflection on how to successfully navigate cross-border mobility during a career in science

Abstract This essay explores the challenges and opportunities faced by early-career researchers (ECRs) navigating academic mobility across geographic and institutional boundaries. Written from a personal perspective and grounded in four decades of professional experience, it reflects on the intellectual, personal, institutional, and societal implications of international mobility and scientific collaboration. While such transitions can foster innovation, creativity, and broader perspectives, they are often hindered by institutional inertia, inadequate mentorship and support, precarious funding structures, and inequitable collaboration practices. Drawing on concrete examples, the essay offers practical advice for ECRs, such as developing resilience, carefully evaluating relocation opportunities, selecting mentors wisely, planning next career steps, and approaching collaborative opportunities critically. Beyond individual strategies, the essay emphasizes the urgent need for structural reforms in academic systems, including stronger institutional support for researchers moving abroad or reintegrating at home, more transparent and fair institutional practices, as well as mechanisms to ensure equitable collaboration, particularly across North–South divides. It also highlights psychological and professional costs of mobility, including isolation, identity fragmentation, and the erosion of domestic academic capital, which are often overlooked in policy debates. Ultimately, the essay calls for more ethical, inclusive, and responsible mentorship and advocates for a more integrated and fair scientific community capable of addressing global scientific challenges effectively.